'Golden Compass' Looks Leaden This Wkd (Anti-God movie bombs overseas, expected to flop in US)

Deadline Hollywood ^ | 12/07/07 | Nikki Finke

[jimbo123]

My box office gurus are telling me that New Line Cinema's holiday tentpole The Golden Compass is going to be a huge bomb. They predict an opening domestic weekend starting today only in the high $20s million from 3,528 theaters. That's disastrous because, with a pricetag of $200+ million without P&A costs, the fantasy epic should be making a minimum $50 million debut. Not to mention that the studio has spent big bucks marketing the heck out of the PG-13 pic based on UK author Philip Pullman's young adult book trilogy His Dark Materials.

Problem is, Golden Compass has sparked the ire of the Catholic League, which is calling for a boycott of the film by parents with children due to Pullman's supposedly anti-Christian notions. It's the kind of action rarely taken by the Catholic League against a movie, not even last year's The Da Vinci Code. Worse, it cements Nicole Kidman's status as box office poison.

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

"My books are about killing God"
-- Phillip Pullman, 2003

Kinda puts a dent in the whole "he's just an atheist" defense. Atheists don't believe there's any God to kill.

Pullman's doing the devil's work. He knows it and he's proud of it.

[Antoninus]

That would be a wake up call to Hollywood.

Wake up call? Are you kidding? They'd look at the failure and say, "See, I told you there wasn't enough homosexual underage sex in the movie!"

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

Pinkville was the Oliver Stone/Bruce Willis picture, right?

I guess they pulled it after the Lions disaster. Maybe they're getting the hint that being on the wrong side of the American people isn't the best place for an upstart (formerly great) studio to be.

[driftdiver]

“Problem is, Golden Compass has sparked the ire of the Catholic League, which is calling for a boycott of the film by parents with children due to Pullman’s supposedly anti-Christian notions.”

Nothing supposed about his anti-Christian notions. His dislike for Christians is well documented.

[xtinct]

Anything out of Hollywood is embarrassingly stupid.

Now another stink bomb like the Iraq films from Summer 2007.

These people just don't get it. The purported stars of these movies are the children of former *mostly talented* actors and actresses. Their kids have zero talent. And, under ordinary circumstances wouldn't even be considered attractive.

[APFel]

Worse, it cements Nicole Kidman's status as box office poison.

LOL. I was just talking about Nicole Kidman after seeing the Golden Compass trailer on television. I mentioned that all of her movies are horrible.

My wife replied, "She was good in 'Days of Thunder'". Hahahaaaa... Sigh. APf

[driftdiver]

“Their kids have zero talent. And, under ordinary circumstances wouldn’t even be considered attractive.”

The miracle of makeup hides many many things.

[Frank L]

>>Pullman’s supposedly anti-Christian notions.

>Supposedly? I thought he was on record as wanting to undermine Christian belief.

He is. Just like John Kerry is on record admitting to war crimes. But when has the MSM ever let such an inconvienient thing as truth get in the way of agenda?

[NCC-1701]

"...She was smokin' hot, once...."

This guy kinda likes her.

[VOA]

(post from a previous thread)

Bumping for this PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:

The film “The Golden Compass” STINKS!

You can save your money on this “Golden Turkey” even if you are
an atheist/agnostic.

We now return you to a thread on the ultra-right-wing website
www.freerepublic.com
(/sarc)

[VeniVidiVici]

How can a cartoon cost $200mil to make?

[JamesP81]

That would be a wake up call to Hollywood.

Doubtful. The wild successful Lord of the Rings, with a subtle Christian message, and the wildly successful Chronicles of Narnia with a blatant Christian message, and the wildly successful Passion of the Christ did not serve as wake up calls for Hollyweird. They are far too thickheaded for anything like this to bring them out of la la land.

[gridlock]

They are far too thickheaded for anything like this to bring them out of la la land.

Well, maybe they will just run themselves out of business. That would work for me.

[JamesP81]

She was smokin' hot, once.

She's out of my age group, but I still think she's a fine looking woman.

[JamesP81]

Well, maybe they will just run themselves out of business. That would work for me.

One would hope, but I'm afraid that what they likely do is subsidize garbage like this from the massive profits movies like Narnia bring in.

[netmilsmom]

Enchanted opened with a 50 million dollar box office it’s first weekend and has been number one ever since. Even without the promised Goofy short “How to Hook up your Home Theater”

[Aquinasfan]

Pullman's supposedly anti-Christian notions.

Supposedly? I thought he was on record as wanting to undermine Christian belief.

Yes, he did say that on the record. But we shouldn't be too judgemental. At least that's what I'm told.

[Aquinasfan]

Bella, on the other hand, has been in theaters for weeks and has done pheonominally well, considering it had low distribution, snide reviews, and little advertising. People managed to find it anyway. I went with my teen aged daughter and she loved it—we both did.

I can't wait to see it.

I happened to catch "Eve and the Fire Horse" on the Sundance Channel a week ago. It's one of the two or three best movies that I've seen in the last 20 years. I can't recommend it highly enough. How it got support from Redford is beyond me. But it even won a "Best of" at Sundance a year or two ago.

[Publius6961]

I saw the preview for that movie in november and it looked embarassingly dumb.

What can be dumber than a culture advanced enough to fly would do so in a boat?!!?

That movie should be PG-6

[wizr]

(Recycling is the new Religion.)

Do you notice that Recycling seems to be MORE EXPENSIVE than the old days of just trash?

Also, EVERYTHING made from recycled materials is more expensive than the old stuff?

It is getting so bad, that thrift stores have prices almost as high as new products, for things that are GIVEN to them.

What would this world be without MONEY.